Clashes frequently erupt around camps housing internally displaced people (IDPs) in Karenni (Kayah) State, repeatedly forcing residents to evacuate, according to the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC).

Junta troops stationed in Mobye (Mongpai) Town, Pekon Township, southern Shan State, near the Karenni State border, have repeatedly conducted military operations in nearby villages such as Settawyar and Loiyin. These operations have sparked frequent clashes with Karenni resistance forces, including the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), forcing residents of nearby IDP camps to evacuate repeatedly.

“Lately, the clashes have been getting closer to villages and IDP camps. Depending on how intense the fighting is, residents have had to evacuate and move repeatedly. We’ve been helping by arranging places for them to stay whenever they’re displaced. In some areas, the fighting has been so severe that entire camps have had to be abandoned,” said U Banyar, the secretary 2 of the IEC.

On October 3, two children, both around 10, were seriously injured in a village by an artillery shell fired by the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 530 (LIB 530), based in Loilenlay Town in Karenni State’s Loikaw Township. One child was struck by shrapnel in the shoulder, while the other lost an arm.

In addition, the KNDF announced that the junta has been carrying out frequent ground offensives, drone strikes, and artillery shelling around Dawngankhar and Taneiukwaing villages in Demoso Township, Karenni State.

The KNDF’s information department reported on October 6 that a junta officer and many soldiers were killed in clashes across Demoso, Hpruso, and Loikaw townships in Karenni State.

The KNDF urged residents in the conflict hotspots of those three townships to stay alert to the junta’s artillery, drones, and airstrikes, and also advised avoiding travel through areas where clashes are ongoing.